39 Days, 7 Hours, 49 Minutes: Todd Carmichael Officially Breaks Hannah McKeand’s South Pole World Speed Record

 

 

Todd Carmichael has officially set a new solo and unsupported world speed record to the South Pole.  His time of 39 days, 7 hours, and 33 minutes bested former world record holder Hannah McKeand’s time of 39 days, 9 hours, and 33 minutes set back in 2006.  This is an official time coming from Todd’s tracking equipment and being reported by ExplorersWeb.

How close was it?

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Todd Carmichael Becomes First American To Go Solo And Unsupported To The South Pole!!

Philadelphia adventurer Todd Carmichael has become the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole.  His adventure began 39 days ago as he was dropped off on the Antarctic continent.  Through bouts of bad weather, ski bindings that forced Todd to walk on foot for the majority of the journey, and numerous technical problems, Todd Carmichael persevered and can now claim to be the first and only American to ever do this unaided, unsupported, and alone.

Early in Todd’s journey it looked as if he may have to abandon his attempt to reach the South Pole.  Frustrated with snapping ski bindings and unable to come up with a permanent fix, Todd decided to throw them aside and continue his journey on foot.  Oddly enough, the freedom from not having to traverse the harsh terrain on skis actually helped Todd to quicken his pace.  A week before Todd reached the South Pole, it was relayed that he had caught and surpassed legendary Antarctic adventurer Hannah McKeand’s world speed record pace and was set to surpass it by a couple of days.  That was before he hit the soft snow of the final degree.

The latest word on Todd’s attempt at the South Pole. solo and unsupported, world speed record has him arriving at the Pole within the same hour that Hannah Mckeand did back in 2006.  An ‘official’ time will not be posted until a closer look can take place.  That may occur after Todd leaves the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station base in the next couple of days.  There are many of us that still have our fingers crossed that Todd that Todd may have captured a new world speed record.  Even without that record though, Todd Carmichael has still placed his name amongst some of the great antarctic records and feats to take place in the last 100 years.  To become the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole, has a special reverberation.  Not only has he done something for himself, but his country can now thank him for capturing this elusive record.

The Adventurist congratulates you Todd on an amazing journey and I look forward to talking with you upon your return to the states.  You are an inspiration to many for your great accomplishment.  Take a couple days to rest up, then get back home and enjoy the party!  Congrats, man!

Read more on Todd Carmichael >>>

Read his 2008 South Pole dispatches from the South Pole>>>

Read an exclusive interview from The Adventurist >>>

Read One of the first media reports from the Philadelphia Inquirer

Todd Carmichael Expedition Earth South Pole 2008 Update: The Final Push??

All eyes have turned to Todd Carmichael and his attempt to become the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole.  Over the last few days, Todd had caught up with Hannah McKeand’s world record pace.  He had projected possibly arriving at the South Pole today and in doing so, hopefully beating Hannah McKeand’s South Pole record.  I stayed up late lastnight waiting for the latest update from Todd.  Unfortunately, Todd didn’t update.  This could be due to a number of factors including equipment failure, or Todd is just concentrating on making that final push to the Pole.  Currently his tracking system has him sitting roughly 28 nautical miles from the Pole.

Here is the latest update from Todd Carmichael’s Expedition Earth South Pole 2008 Expedition:

I did not receive a call from Todd last night, though he did activate his secondary beacon locater, the so-called “Yellowbrick”, which intermittently transmits his coordinates. Though he has certainly moved ahead since the latest transmission was sent, the Yellowbrick showed Todd a little more than half way through the final degree. This would put him still some 28 nautical miles from the South Pole.

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2008-2009 Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition South Pole Update

A very different day today - 16.4 nm achieved but at some cost - the crampons didn’t hold up to much and it sounds like the team wish they had brought with them steel crampons rather than the aluminium which they have taken instead.

They weren’t expecting the Beardmore Glacier to be one huge sea of blue ice - the obvious benefit is that they can now see all the crevasses, less helpful, is the feeling of walking on concrete wearing spikes for 8 hours a day.

Progress will probably be slower as they have to deal with their crampons more from now on.

SITREP

1. Sitrep No 35 as at 0908 hrs GMT 18 Dec 08
2. Distance Covered Today : 16.4 nm
3. Total Distance Covered : 425.4 nm
4. Hours travelled: 7
5. Daily Average to Date: 12.15 nm
6. Days to RV on Jan 9 at 97 Mile Point: 23
7. Distance to RV: 268.39 nm
8. Distance to Pole: 365.39 nm
9. Required Daily Average to achieve RV: 11.67 nm

Best wishes

Bill

Bill Shipton
Chairman
The Shackleton Foundation

Expedition Website: www.shackletoncentenary.org
Foundation Website: www.shackletonfoundation.org

E: bill.shipton@shackletonfoundation.org

The Quest For The South Pole Begins!!

This year’s expeditions to the South Pole are starting to get underway.  I have already made a post concerning Todd Carmichael, who is attempting to become the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole, but there are others beginning their journey as well.  Most of this year’s South Pole adventurers are beginning to arrive in Chile for their final layover before Antarctica.

The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition is currently reporting in from Puntas Arenas, Chile.  From there, they will fly to Patriot Hills, Antarctica, then over to the famous Shackleton hut–one of the first stops on their expedition.  The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition is taking place to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ernest Shackleton’s famed Nimrod expedition of 1909.  This expedition features relatives of that first voyage, and plans to trace the original course to the South Pole.  You can read more about this historic journey by reading a couple of articles I have written focused on this expedition.  The first article is an overview of the expedition, and the second is an interview I recently conducted with Henry Worsley, the leader of the Matrix Shackleton Expedition.  I will be following them along on their journey and providing updates as I get them.

In related news, thepoles.com is reporting that Dieter and Armin, of the Aloha Antarctic Expedition, have arrived in Antarctica.  These two adventurers are planning to ski to the South Pole this year.  They will be taking a few days to train in the elements before heading out on their journey-The two are hoping to become the first successful South Pole expedition to begin from Neumayer Station.

The expedition, consisting of Germans Armin Wirth and Lars Bastian, along with Austrian Dieter Staudinger, will be skiing from the German research station Neumayer to the South Pole, where they will then continue on to Patriot Hills, completing a trans-Antarctic journey, one that is expected to take them 3 months to complete, covering more than 3400 km (2,112 miles) in the process.

This information is coming from The Adventure Blog, which has posted a nice piece with more information on this expedition.

As the South Pole expeditions begin to arrive at their takeoff destination and things begin to heat up in the Antarctic, all eyes will be on them over the next few weeks (and even months).  Let’s wish them all a safe journey.

Be sure to stop back by for the latest South Pole updates.  You can read them directly from this site (bookmark it or RSS), or by subscribing to my free email newsletter.